Partition for containers



March 11, 1969 w. M. BROWN 3,432,029

PARTITION FOR CONTAINERS Filed April 11, 1966 38 INVENTOR 4| 4| 4WILLIAM M. BROWN BY r ,-//4 JMYZ wagg gum/ RNEYS March 11, 1969 w. M.BROW N 3,432,029

PARTITION FOR CONTAINERS Filed April 11, 1966 INVENTOR WILLIAM M. BROWNATTORNEYS United States Patent 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Thisdisclosure is directed to a wrap-around tubular carrier and a separatepartition supported upon the necks of containers packaged therein. Thepartition functions to maintain the containers in predetermined alignedrelationship, and the top panel and partition have alignedfingerreceiving openings to permit the carrier to be manually graspedand carried.

Carriers of the type to which this invention is directed are formed fromcarrier blanks which are generally constructed from paperstock material.The blanks have neckreceiving openings in top panels thereof, andgenerally terminate at opposite longitudinal end portions in closurepanels provided with cooperative latching means for maintaining thecarriers in a generally tubular configuration. The containers, such asbottles, and a carrier blank are assembled by first positioning thecarrier blank above a plurality of the bottles with the neck-receivingopenings in the top panel in registration with the bottle necks. Theblank is then lowered to permit the necks of the bottles to projectthrough the neck-receiving openings of the carrier blank. Such bottlesgenerally include crown caps or closures which are of a larger diameterthan the narrowest diameter of the bottle necks. The neck receivingopenings in the carrier blank are therefore of a suificient diameter toreadily pass the crown closures therethrough.

Thereafter the carrier blank is wrapped about the bottles until theclosure panels are disposed in generally underlying parallelrelationship to the top panel. Toward the end of the wrapping operationtabs of one of the closure panels are introduced through openings inanother of the closure panels to maintain the bottles and the carrier inassembled relationship.

One major disadvantage of a wrap-around carrier of this type is theinability thereof to maintain the bottles in accurate predetermined.relationship both prior to and after the packaging operation. Once thebottle necks have been passed through the neck-receiving openings of thecarrier the bottles are free to shift relative to one another because ofthe oversize nature of the neck-receiving openings. The edges of theneck-receiving openings are spaced from the bottle necks and therewithdefine annular gaps or spaces across which the necks can move as thebottles shift in the carrier. If the bottles shift prior to the wrappingof the carrier blank thereabout, it is diflicult to consistentlyregister the neck-receiving openings with the bottle necks. Without suchregistration one or more of the bottle necks would not pass through theneck-receiving openings of the carrier blank and it would be impossibleto complete the assembly of the bottles and the blank. Equally asimportant is the undesirable shifting of the bottles during shipment andhandling. If the shifting is excessive axial endmost ones of the bottlescan become dislodged and fall out of the carrier. This shifting of thebottles also results in the undesirable loose confinement of the bottleswithin the carrier if, for example, the carrier blank is wrapped tightlyabout the bottles in one position and they thereafter shift transverselycloser to each other. This shifting and attended loosening of thecarrier "ice can eventually result in the unlatching of the lowerclosures.

It is, therefore, a primary object of this invention to provide a novelwrap-around carrier of the type heretofore described which avoids theabove and numerous other disadvantages inherent in conventionalwraparound carriers, the invention being characterized by the provisionof a partition member in the carrier adjacent a top panel of thecarrier, and the partition member including means for maintainingpackage containers, such as bottles or similar articles, inpredetermined spaced relationship to one another in the carrier.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel wrap-aroundcarrier which includes a top panel, a plurality of openings forreceiving necks of bottles packaged in the carrier, a partition memberin the carrier adjacent the top panel, the partition member being asheet material blank and including opposite free edge portions, and thefree edge portions including a plurality of notches for at leastpartially surrounding and contactingly engaging the outer surfaces ofthe bottle necks whereby the bottles are maintained in a particularorientation relative to each other.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a novel wrap-aroundcarrier of the type heretofore described wherein the partition memberincludes means in alignment with finger receiving opening means of thecarrier top panel for permitting access to the interior of the carrierto the partition during conventional manual handling of the carrier.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel wrap-aroundcarrier of the type heretofore described which includes lower closurepanels disposed generally parallel to the top panel, and means wedgedbetween transversely adjacent bottle bottom portions for forcing theadjacent bottom bottle portions away from each other whereby latchingmeans of the closure panels are maintained in forceful latchingengagement and the carrier is maintained in tight embracing relationshipwith the bottles.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear,the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by referenceto the following detailed description and the several views illustratedin the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top perspective view of the carrier of this invention withportions thereof broken away for clarity and illustrates a partitionmember maintaining a plurality of bottles in transverse and longitudinalalignment in the carrier.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view of lower closure panels of thecarrier, and illustrates a plurality of cooperative latching tabs andopenings for securing the carrier in assembled relationship relative tothe bottles.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of one of theopenings and associated tabs of the closure panels of FIGURE 2, andillustrates the manner in which the tabs are passed through the openingstoward a latched position of the closure panels.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken generally along line 4-4 of FIGURE 1,and illustrates tab means wedged between transversely adjacent bottlesand the manner in which the partition member maintains the bottle neckstransversely spaced a predetermined distance from each other.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along line 55of FIGURE 4, and more clearly illustrates the relationship'of thevarious components of the carrier.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken generally along 3 line 6-6 of FIGURE1, and illustrates a tab disposed between each transverse pair of thebottles.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken generally along line 7-7 of FIGURE 4,and more clearly illustrates the configuration of the partition memberand finger-receiving openings therein in alignment with finger-receivingopenings of the carrier top panel.

A novel carrier constructed in accordance with this invention isgenerally designated by the reference numeral 10, and includes as aseparate element thereof a partition or partition member, generallydesignated by the reference numeral 15.

The carrier 10 is formed from a generally rectangular carrier blank(unnumbered) of paperstock material which is folded to define agenerally tubular carrier body 16. The body 16 is defined by a top panel17 having opposite downwardly diverging shoulder panel portions 18, 20.The shoulder panel portions 18, 20 are joined to a central panel portion21 of the top panel 17 along respective fold lines 21, 22. A pluralityof identical circular openings 23 are formed in the top panel 17, andthe openings 23 are both transversely and longitudinally aligned, as isbest illustrated in FIGURE 1 of the drawings. The openings 23 are eachof a diameter which is sufiiciently large to permit crown caps orclosures C of containers B, such as bottles having necks N, to passtherethrough.

The central panel portion 21 of the top panel 17 also includes twogenerally opposed U-shaped cuts 25, 26 which define respective tabs 27,28 depending toward the interior of the carrier body 16. The openings25, 26 function to permit the carrier 10 to be manually grasped andcarried.

A side panel 30 is joined to the top panel 17 along a fold line 31 whileanother side panel 32 is joined to the top panel 17 along a fold line33. The side panels 30, 32 are generally identical and each terminatesat an identical discontinuous fold line 34 which is interrupted by aplurality of arcuate downwardly projecting tabs 35 which are slit at 36.

The panels 30, 32 are joined to identical lower shoulder panels 38defined by the discontinuous fold line 34 and another discontinuous foldline 40. The lower shoulder panels 38 are interrupted by a plurality ofgenerally moonshaped openings 41.

An innermost closure panel 42 is joined to one of the lower shoulderpanels 38 along its associated fold line while an outermost closurepanel 43 is joined to the other lower shoulder panel 38 along theassociated fold line 40.

The inner closure panel 42 is provided with three substantiallyidentical latch receiving openings 44 through 46. Each latch receivingopening 44 through 46 is gen erally square-shaped in outline andincludes a pair of upwardly diverging cut lines 47, 48, as viewed inFIGURE 2 of the drawings.

The outer closure panel 43 is divided medially by a discontinuous foldline 50 which is interrupted by a plurality of shallow U-shaped cutlines 51 through 53 which define spaced latching tabs 54 through 56,respectively. Bottle wedging tabs 57 through 59 are integrally joined:to the outer closure panel 43 along respective fold lines 60 through62, and each wedging tab 57 through 59 is in longitudinal alignment withan associated one of the latching tabs 54 through 56, respectively. Thelatching tabs 54 through 56 serve to securely latch the carrier body 16in the tubular configuration thereof, as is best illustrated in FIGURE 1of the drawings, while the wedging tabs 57 through 59 function to forcelower end portions of transversely adjacent ones of the bottles B awayfrom each other, as will be more apparent hereafter.

The partition or partition member 15 is best illustrated in FIGURES 1and 7 of the drawings, and is formed of generally flat, planarpaperstock or similar sheet material. The partition 15 is of a generallyelongated configuration and is defined by a pair of opposite parallelfree transverse edges 70, 71 and a pair of scalloped longitudinal edgeportions 72, 73. The longitudinal edge portion 72 of the partition 15 isprovided with three generally semi-circular notches 74 through 76 whichopen away from a longitudinal center line of the partition. The notches74, merge with a fold line 77 which is generally parallel to thelongitudinal center line of the partition 15 while another similar foldline 78 merges with the notches 75, 76. A pair of tabs 80, 81 projectingaway from the longitudinal center line of the partition 15 are joinedthereto by the respective fold lines 77, 78. The tab 80 includes a pairof edges 82, 83 which diverge toward the respective notches 74, 75 whileedges 84, of the tab 81 diverge toward the notches 75, 76. The edges 82through 85 define means for guiding the necks N of the bottles B intothe notches 74 through 76, as will be more readily apparent hereafter.

The opposite longitudinal edge portion 73 of the partition 15 similarlyincludes a plurality of generally semicircular notches 86 through 88.The notches 86, 87 are joined by a fold line 90 while the notches 87, 88similarly merge with a fold line 91. The fold lines 90, 91 are in spacedtransverse parallel relationship to the respective fold lines 77, 78. Atab 92 is joined to the partition 15 along the fold line 90 whileanother tab 93 is joined to the partition 15 along the fold line 91. Thetabs 92, 93 project away from the center line of the partition 15, andare in transverse alignment with the respective tabs 80, 8-1. The tab 92is also defined in part by guide edges 94, 95 which diverge toward thenotches 86, 87 respectively. Guide edges 96, 97 of the tab 93 similarlydiverge toward the respective notches 87, 88.

A central panel portion 98 of the partition 15 is defined by the notches74 through 76, 86 through 88, the fold lines 77, 78, 90 and 91, and thetransverse edges 70, 71. The central panel portion 98 is cut out todefine a pair of finger-receiving openings 100, 101 which are locatedalong the longitudinal center line of the partition 15.

During the assembly of the bottles B and the carrier body or blank 16,the bottles B are first automatically oriented or pre-positioned byconventional means (not shown) to locate the necks N and crown closuresC in predetermined transverse and longitudinal alignment. The spacingbetween the necks N and the crown closures C corresponds to the spacingand alignment of the notches 74 through 76 and 86 through 88 of thepartition 15. The partition 15 is then manually or automaticallypositioned between the bottle necks N with each of the notches 74through 76 and 86 through 88 partially surrounding and contactinglyengaging the outer surfaces of the necks N as is best illustrated inFIGURES l and 7 of the drawings. The bottles B are thereby maintained inpredetermined transverse and longitudinal alignment by the notches 74through 76 and 86 through 88. It should be particularly noted that theradius of each notch corresponds generally to the external radius ofeach bottle neck (FIGURE 7) and that the radius of each notch is smallerthan the radius of each of the neck-receiving openings 24 in the carriertop panel 17. The bottle necks N are therefore snugly engaged by thenotches 74 through 76 and 86 through 88 and are confined against movinglongitudinally of the partition 15 or transversely toward each other.

If the bottles B are slightly misaligned during the time the bottles areassembled with the partition 15 the edges 82 through 85 and 94 through97 engage the outer surfaces of the necks of misaligned bottles andprogressively guide any such slightly misaligned bottle necks into thenotches 74 through 76 and 86 through 88. This guiding action of theedges 82 through 85 and 94 through 97 assures that each of the bottles Bis maintained in precise alignment prior to the application of thecarrier blank 16 thereto.

After the partition 15 and the bottles B have been assembled in themanner just described, the carrier blank 16 is lowered upon the bottlesB to effect the passage of the necks N and the crown closures C to thefingerreceiving openings 24. The carrier body 16 is then tightly wrappedabout the plurality of bottles B in the manner heretofore described.During this Wrapping operation the shoulder panels 18, 20 contact thetabs 80, 81 and 92, 93, and urge the tabs downwardly to a position inangular relationship to the central panel 98, as is best illustrated inFIGURES 4 and 5 of the drawings.

As the closure panels 42, 43 are drawn toward each other, beneath thebottom portions (unnumbered) of the bottles B, the side panels 30, 32urge the bottom portions of transversely adjacent bottles B intocontacting engagement. However, the necks N are prevented from movingtransversely toward one another due to the partition 15. At this timethe tabs 54 through 56 are inserted through the respective openings 44through 46 and the tabs 57 through 59 are similarly inserted through therespective openings 44 through 46, as is diagrammatically illustrated inFIGURE 3 of the drawings relative to the tabs 54, 57 being insertedthrough the opening 44. During this latching engagement the tabs 54through 56 are brought into overlying relationship with the innerclosure panel 42 adjacent each of the openings 44 through 46, as is bestillustrated in FIGURE 1 of the drawings. The latching tabs 54 through 56form the primary interlock between the closure panels 42, 43 which isaugmented somewhat by the tabs 57 through 59 whose notched edges(unnumbered) overlie the inner closure panel 42 adjacent each of the cutlines 47, 48. As the tabs 57 through 59 are urged through the openings44 through 46, respectively, each tab is wedgingly, forcefully insertedbetween the contacting bottom portions of transversely adjacent bottlesto urge the bottom portions thereof transversely away from each other.This action urges the bottom portions of the bottles B into intimateengagement with the moonshaped cut outs 41 in each of the lower shoulderpanels 38, as is best illustrated in FIGURES l and 4 of the drawings. Inthis manner the carrier body 16 is tightly wrapped about the bottles Band the latter are virtually precluded from accidentally orinadvertently being dislodged from the carrier 10.

As was heretofore noted the notches 74 through 76 and 86 through 88prevent the bottle necks from moving longitudinally or transverselytoward one another at the completion of the formation of the carrier 10.The necks N are likewise prevented from moving transversely away fromeach other because of the upper shoulder panels 18, 20 and the sidepanels 30-, 32, as is best illustrated in FIGURE 4 of the drawings. Thebottom end portions of the bottles B are likewise prevented fromshifting transversely toward each other due to the wedging engagement ofthe tabs 57 through 59 between tranversely adjacent pairs of thebottles. Longitudinal shifting of the bottom end portions of the bottlesB is prevented by means of the moon slots or cut outs 41 in the panels38. In this manner the carrier is not only a tight assembly of thecomponents 15, 16 and B, but both upper and lower end portions of thebottles B are precluded from shifting longitudinally and/or transverselyrelative to each other in directions parallel and/or normal to thelongitudinal center line of the carrier body 16.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that novel and advantageousprovisions have been made for carrying out the desired end. However,attention is again directed to the fact that additional 'variations maybe made in this invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof.

I claim:

1. A partition particularly adapted for maintaining necked containersoriented in a Wrap-around carrier of the type having finger-receivingopenings in a top panel thereof which are adapted to be grasped to carrythe carrier comprising a generally uniplanar blank of sheet materialadapted to be supported upon and solely by the necks of containers, saidblank including opposite free terminal edge portions, means defined bysaid edge portions for at least partially surrounding and contactinglyengaging the outer surfaces of a plurality of containers adapted to bepackaged in the carrier whereby the containers are maintained in aparticular orientation relative to each other, and said partitionincludes means for providing at least a single opening for alignmentwith at least one of the carrier openings to permit the carrier to bemanually grasped and carried.

2. The partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said surrounding andengaging means are notches, a tab between adjacent ones of said notchesprojecting away from a center line of the partition, and at least oneadjacent pair of tabs having edges converging toward the center line andmerging with an associated one of said container engaging means todefine guide means for guiding a container into said container engagingmeans.

3. The partition as defined in claim 2 including fold lines joining saidtabs to a main portion of said blank, and said fold lines being disposedgenerally parallel to said center line.

4. The partition as defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided forguiding portions of articles into contact with at least some of saidarticle contacting means.

5. The partition as defined in claim 1 wherein said blank includes aplurality of oppositely directed tabs, and said tabs are each joined tosaid blank along spaced parallel fold lines whereby the tabs are adaptedto be folded to a position in angular relationship to a central portionof the blank.

6. In a wrap-around carrier of the type particularly adapted to house aplurality of containers, the carrier including top, bottom and sidepanels imparting an open ended tubular configuration to said carrier,the improvement comprising a separate partition member in said carrieradapted to be supported adjacent said top panel by a plurality ofcontainers adapted to be housed therein, said partition member includingmeans for maintaining packaged containers in predetermined spacedrelationship in said carrier, said partition member being a sheetmaterial blank, said blank including opposite free edge portions, saidmeans being defined by said edge portions, and said means being bothtransversely and longitudinally aligned.

7. In the wraparound carrier as defined in claim 6 including meansassociated with at least one of said firstmentioned means for guiding acontainer into registration with said at least one means.

8. In the wrap-around carrier as defined in claim 6 wherein said meansare a plurality of notches, and the notches at one of said edge portionsopen in a direction opposite to the notches at an opposite one of saidedge portions.

9. 'In the wrap-around carrier as defined in claim 8 wherein saidpartition member further includes at least a pair of oppositely directedtabs, and means are provided for facilitating the bending of said tabsin a direction away from the top panel.

. 10. In the wraparound carrier as defined in claim 8 wherein each notchis in alignment with an associated one of said neck-receiving openings.

11. A package of the type particularly adapted to house a plurality ofbottles comprising a wrap-around carrier including a top panel, sidepanels joined to said top panel and depending therefrom, a closure paneljoined to each side panel, means maintaining the wrap-around carrier ina tubular configuration, a plurality of containers in said carrier, saidcontainers having upwardly directed necks, means separate and apart fromsaid carrier and internally thereof adjacent said top panel supported bysaid containers for maintaining said containers in transverse andlongitudinal alignment and for preventing the necks of transverselyadjacent containers from shifting toward each other.

12. The package as defined in claim 11 wherein said means adjacent saidtop panel is a generally horizontally disposed sheet material partitionmember, and said partition member includes a plurality of notchesreceiving the necks of said containers.

13. The package as defined in claim 11 wherein said means adjacent saidtop panel is a generally horizontally disposed sheet material partitionmember, said partition member includes a plurality of notches receivingthe necks of said containers, tabs are disposed between and outboard ofadjacent pairs of said notches, and said tabs include edges convergingtoward a center line of said partition member for guiding said containernecks into said notches.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,320,440 6/1943 Kruea et al20665 JOSEPH R 8 11/ 1944 Brogden 20665 7/1961 Fallert 20665 11/ 1963Chapman et al 229-42 4/1964 Weiss 206-65 7/1965 Weiss 229--40 12/1965Weiss 20665 4/ 1966 Weiss 22940 6/ 1967 Weiss 20665 LECLAIR, PrimaryExaminer.

US. Cl. X.R.

